But many questions won't be answered until spring practice ends on April 14 with the A-Day Game.

A year ago, the big question was about the quarterback. Who would start: AJ McCarron or Phillip Sims? McCarron didn't win the job until the season had started, and now he's established going into his redshirt junior season.

This spring, there isn't one big question - just many small ones - as the Crimson Tide begins its attempt to win a third national championship in the past four seasons.

Here are five questions. ...

1.How much will Alabama's offense change with a new coordinator?Jim McElwain is gone after four seasons. Doug Nussmeier was hired in January after serving as the offensive coordinator/quarterback coach at Washington. Saban made it clear that wholesale changes aren't planned. "This is Alabama's offense," Saban said. "We will make some changes, and we actually have people visiting right now that we're trying to learn new things and get new ideas and make improvements. But I would think we would like to move toward being more like what we were in the bowl game in terms of the diversity of what we do on offense." The key, Saban said, is to determine what this group of players can do.

2.Who will emerge in a reloaded secondary? Safety Mark Barron and cornerbacks Dre Kirkpatrick and DeQuan Menzie are moving on to the NFL. Safety Robert Lester returns as a fifth-year senior and third-year starter. Dee Milliner is expected to start at one cornerback spot. The competition at the other cornerback and safety spots will be interesting to watch this spring. Junior college transfers Travell Dixon and Deion Belue will compete with rising junior John Fulton, among others, at cornerback. The competition at safety probably starts with rising sophomore Ha Ha Clinton-Dix, but Vinnie Sunseri, Jarrick Williams and Nick Perry will be in the mix this spring.

3.What about outside linebacker? Middle linebacker Dont'a Hightower's defection to the NFL won't sting so much because senior-to-be Nico Johnson, junior-to-be C.J. Mosley and sophomore-to-be Trey DePriest will provide talent and experience at the inside spots. But outside linebackers Courtney Upshaw and Jerrell Harris are gone. Who will take their places? Adrian Hubbard and Xzavier Dickson are two players to watch. Many eyes this spring will be on two freshman early enrollees: Ryan Anderson and Dillon Lee.

4.Who will catch McCarron's passes?Marquis Maze, Darius Hanks and Brandon Gibson are gone. Some 2011 backups - primarily DeAndrew White, Kevin Norwood, Kenny Bell and Christion Jones - will get chances to step up, but two freshman early enrollees - Chris Black and Amari Cooper - will take advantage of Duron Carter's extended suspension, For two players who were redshirted as freshmen last fall - Marvin Shinn and Danny Woodson Jr. - now's the time to make a move.

5.Who will follow in Trent Richardson's footsteps? Eddie Lacy (turf toe) will not participate in spring practice as he recovers from postseason surgery. He was dazzling if not durable as a backup last season. As a redshirt sophomore last fall, he injured his foot in Alabama's fourth game of the 2011 season, against Arkansas. He still played in 12 of the Tide's 13 games and ran 95 times for 674 yards (7.1 yards per carry) and seven touchdowns. Lacy should go into the fall as the No. 1 back, but don't look for him to average 25 touches per game, as Richardson did on his way to becoming a Heisman Trophy finalist. Alabama is deep at this position. Jalson Fowler, Dee Hart, T.J. Yeldon and Blake Sims will get equal opportunities this spring, Saban said Tuesday. "Jalston has probably played the most, and he's had a good offseason," Saban said. "It's not a bad thing that those guys are going to get a lot of reps."